Everquest versus Anarchy Online (A Review)

Anarchy Online has been out almost a month now. I know there have to be some Everquest players out there wondering about Anarchy Online and how it compares to EQ. I beta tested Everquest and have been playing it ever since. I also beta tested Anarchy Online and have been playing it since it was released a few weeks ago. Of course, I have seen a lot more of EQ than AO, so there are things that I can’t compare quite yet, but I still thought I would give you my initial impressions to help you decide if AO is a game you might want to try. So here is my comparison and review. Playability This is something I feel needs to be stated right up front, because I am going to try to ignore it for the rest of the review. At the moment, Anarchy Online is not a quality, playable game. The game was released with Funcom fully knowing that it was bugged, incomplete and unplayable. I was a beta tester and I was astounded when I discovered that the version we were playing those last weeks of beta was truly just a step from the release version. Frankly, I believe that any legitimate company should hang their heads in shame after releasing a game in this bad a shape. Funcom then rubbed salt into the wounds of even their most loyal customers by announcing that the game was “110%” playable two weeks after release, setting off the clock on the 30 days you get with your purchase and assuring that they will start charging people for a game many cannot yet play. The lag in the game is horrendous. Anytime you get close to more than a handful of other players, your frame rate drops to almost nothing and you find yourself standing in place. What’s worse about this is that you can’t sit or move your curser enough to even log out of the game, and you are often forced to stand there for five minutes or more hoping to just get out of the game. Of course, you can always alt-tab to windows and control-alt-delete the game closed, but that seems like a pretty extreme measure. Basically, this means that you are better off just not trying to play during the typical prime time hours. The pathing in the game is so bad that when you are in a mission your best chance is to move to a room, stand still and wait to see what starts to shoot at you. Of course, then it is often in another room and shooting through the walls, but at least you can shoot it back that way. Mobs can attack you through walls and across the playing field without you even seeing them or knowing where to go to fight back. Quite often you will lag out during a fight, which makes it impossible to use your special attacks, and then come back in and find out that you died. High patience and a low frustration level are required to play this game right now. A high performance machine and high speed internet connection are also a lot of help. If you go in expecting a beta quality game, you will probably still be amazed at the problems. Still, many people are able to play the game, so for those of you who are willing to overlook the obvious problems and want to delve into the actual game lurking behind the bugs, I’ll try to give you my view of how it plays. Graphics and Sound The graphics of Anarchy Online are crisper and more realistic than those of Everquest. There are nice little touches that really add to the feel of the world. The sky effects are pretty amazing and there are things like little robots and flying birds that add a touch of realism to the game. The player models are stunning and the number of outfits you can wear are astonishing. I created a female character just to experiment with the rather racy outfits you can buy at the store. This is definitely a PG game. With all the variety, I don’t doubt that you could really get to the point where you can recognize a person just by his or her looks. They also programmed some fun emotes into the game, letting you really express yourself. I know I got a lot of work out of the /anger command when the zones weren’t working right after release. Still, even with such crisp graphics, I find the world to be a little drab. I am sure it is by design, since Rubi-Ka is defined as a dead world that is slowly being terraformed, but there is very little color and variety amongst the cities and zones. Part of the fun in Everquest is zoning into a new zone and seeing how different it is from the rest of the world. Everquest has forests, plains, jungles, oceans, lakes, mountains and a whole variety of other types of terrain. From what I have seen so far, much of Anarchy Online is the same. So, while I like the individual graphics in AO better then EQ, overall I think I prefer the look of Norrath to the look of Rubi-Ka. When it comes to the sound track and sound effects, AO has EQ beat by a mile. I always thought that the music in Everquest was almost an afterthought by the developers. If I recall correctly, music was not even introduced into the game until several months after its release. A good soundtrack can help get the heart thumping and add to the excitement of a battle. AO has this and EQ doesn’t. When I play EQ, I find myself turning down the sound, but when I play AO I like to really crank it. Soloing and Grouping This is an area where these two games differ significantly. Everquest is strictly a group game. While soloing is possible, it is difficult to do and time consuming. In general, groups are easy to form and, because the classes are so well defined, you can form a group of total strangers and fairly quickly figure out everyone’s role in the fights to come. Anarchy Online is just the opposite. It is very easy to solo, and in many ways it is preferable. I have found it very difficult to find a group because most people have quickly discovered that you can get higher experience and better rewards by soloing. Moreover, when you do get into a group most people are confused about what they are supposed to do and in the end everyone basically just blasts away at the mob until it is dead. I assume as people get higher in levels and more specialized that things will change, but groups will never be as easy to define as in Everquest simply because the professions in AO are not so easily pigeonholed into defined roles. This has led to an interesting development in the game. Anarchy Online is simply not as social a game as Everquest. There is no general chat like the zone chat of Everquest and with fewer groups and faster leveling, it is much harder to meet people and make friends. It is more like a bunch of single player games being played simultaneously on the same server. Some of this is due to the lag, which causes most people to do everything they can to avoid other players, but even without the lag, I doubt this will ever be much of a group game. The advantage of this soloability is that Anarchy Online is able to be played in short bursts. If you only have an hour or two to play Everquest, it is almost not worth playing. By the time you log in, get to a zone, find a group and get into a rhythm it is time to log back out. However, with Anarchy Online, you can grab a mission, play it through and gain a half a level’s worth of experience and a nice reward all within about a hours playing time. This alone makes it a far better game for the casual gamer than Everquest. Still, I like the social aspects of Everquest and find Anarchy Online really lacking in that regard. Without more chat features and more incentive to group up with other players, the game will never really seem like a MMORPG to me. What I have discovered is that when I have an hour to play and just want to play a quick solo game, I log onto Anarchy Online. But when I know I can really sit down and immerse myself into the game, a find myself going back to. So far, I don’t think AO has the same addictive hook that EQ can exert on you. Classes/Professions In my opinion, Anarchy Online went the wrong way with their profession system. I don’t doubt that there will be some significant changes as they start to see how the players deal with it. Anarchy Online tried to overlap the professions and also, through a skill system encourage diversity even within the professions. In and of itself, this is not a bad thing. This supposedly lets the players determine their own destiny rather than be pigeonholed into a role determined by the game designer. Unfortunately, from what I can see, it has had the opposite effect. First, the professions don’t vary that much from each other at the start. Because of the easy availability of healing and nano restoring devices, everyone in the game can heal themselves and cast multiple spells. Plus, everyone can wear the same armor and use the same weapons. Naturally, everyone is going to start to figure out the best weapons, armor, nanos, etc and use their skills accordingly. This is especially true because you get so few improvement points that you feel you can’t waste any on any skill that is not strictly necessary. So what you get are few actual variations in classes. Maybe they will vary more in later levels. Also, with the sole exception of the doctor, all of the AO classes are attack classes. With the exception of the doctor class, there are no true support classes. There are classes that could be used in support roles, but because most players will spend a lot of time soloing, players who choose those classes will inevitably end up spending their improvement points on attack skills rather than support skills. This really hurts the grouping process and also reduces the variety in the game. In contrast, Everquest’s class system is very well defined, with each class getting their own specialties, armor, weapons, spells, etc. This can sometimes be frustrating, but it builds up a very well developed reliance upon other players and encourages grouping and interaction. It also makes it easier to know who and what you are dealing with. When you meet a level 25 barbarian shaman, you pretty much know what he can and can’t do. That certainty is not present in AO. On top of that, EQ’s variety increases replay value. The class and race you choose in EQ will significantly effect how and where you play the game. Play an Ogre Warrior and then play a High Elf Wizard, and you will find your aproach to the game to be completely different right from the start. In AO, the breed and profession seem to have little effect on how you play the game. Everyone gets weapons and spells. They may vary in name, but they all work pretty much the same. Are you really going to stop playing your level 150 character and start over with another profession that does much the same thing, only shoots pistols instead of machine guns? So I have to give Everquest’s system the nod over Anarchy Online. I have a feeling others may disagree on this. There is something to be said about having the ability to diversify your character. Still I know that when I switch from a Rogue to a Warrior in Everquest, I will get a completely different game experience, whereas in AO switching from a fixer to a soldier will not really change your style a whole lot. Items and Quests This is an area where Anarchy Online has really improved over Everquest. I love the generated mission system. You go up to a mission generator, put in your parameters and request a mission. You will then be sent to an area to perform a duty, whether it is fixing a machine, killing a traitor, finding a lost item, or some other similar quest. When you get there, your own private dungeon is created. It generally takes an hour to finish and at the end, you usually get a nice reward. You can do missions privately or in a group. This sure beats Everquest’s go camp 10 monsters for a cheesy reward quest system. However, the missions are better in concept in execution, which is a general theme running through much of Anarchy Online. I know I promised not to mention this again, but right now AO is a truly flawed game. Missions are often broken and can’t be finished. The pathing is so bad that you have no idea which Mob will start to shoot at you and you can often find yourself firing at a Mob through a wall while another one stand right in front of you oblivious to your presence. When you lag, the doorways disappear and can’t be crossed, stranding you in the middle of the mission. Still, assuming all of this gets fixed, the missions may well be the best part of Anarchy Online. Anarchy Online also gets a huge thumbs up for making their equipment level sensitive (well actually skill level sensitive, but it works the same way). There will be no twinking in AO, so a newcomer will not find himself wondering why everyone else in the game his level seems to be decked out in great gear while he’s scrounging for enough credits to buy the basics. Plus, equipment drops randomly in accordance with the level of the mob, so there is no camping in AO either. And on top of that, just about everything can be bought in the stores. You are not going to be forced to sit in one place for 15 hours just to get that Phat Lewt. These are huge plusses in Anarchy Online’s favor. There is a negative side to this though. Because it is so easy to get the items you want by yourself, there is little trade going on. Also, there seem to be few, if any, unique or rare items. I always thought items in EQ should drop more randomly, but that doesn’t mean they should become more common. I think that the lack of rare items in AO will somewhat take away from the competition that a true game player likes to feel. While a game should not be all about Phat Lewt, that is still a fun element of EQ that seems to be missing from AO. Still, overall I like the way AO handles quests and items better than the way EQ handles them. Overall Game Play So which game is more fun to play? That’s really the bottom line in evaluating a game. When you are sitting at the computer looking at the AO and EQ icons side by side, which one are you more likely going to click? Well, that’s a complex question. They are both fun games. If you can afford both, I recommend you play both. Why? Because of the differences. While they are supposedly of the same genre, in many ways these are completely different games. AO is a nice solo game that has the added advantage of having other people around to occasionally chat with and interact with and even group with. You can play it for an hour and actually accomplish something. Plus, I haven’t even mentioned the pvp aspects, mainly because I have not tried that yet. EQ is a great group game where you can really lose yourself in a group experience. When you have enough time to truly immerse yourself, this is the game to play. In all, even after setting aside the bugs and lag and lack of playability of AO at this time, I definitely prefer Everquest over Anarchy Online. Of course, EQ’s had more than two years to polish and hone itself to relative perfection, and I’ve also played EQ a lot more than I have played AO, but I doubt that even in four months or so when Anarchy Online finally reaches its potential and becomes a truly final product it will surpass Everquest. This does not mean Anarchy Online is a bust. If you can get past the bugs and the lag there is a pretty nice game in there. If you only have the ability to purchase one more game this year, then by all means save your money and wait for The Shadows of Luclin expansion or perhaps Dark Age of Camelot. If you don’t mind paying $50 for something that is flawed but still kind of fun, then this game is worth a try. Whatever you do, don’t cancel your EQ account though, because you may find yourself wanting to come back in a month or two and you will want that level 60 warrior still sitting there when you return.

Comments

Post Comment
AO vs EQ
# Jul 30 2001 at 11:57 AM Rating: Default
The one thing you are forgetting is that EQ is 2 years old and has had plenty of time to get ru=id of the bugs. AO hasnt had this luxury yet.

If you want to compare the games and how bad they are compare them when EQ had first come out.

EQ was just as bad when it first came out, most people have said it was even worse than AO for lag and server crashes.

Some one pointed out that people are duping in AO and ruining the game, he forgot to mention that verant didnt fix there duping bug for at least 6 months. I have heard that you can still dupe using 3rd party programs. I know this was a SLIGHT over sight on your behalf but if you are going to criticize one game for its problems at least point out the the other game suffered from this for alot longer.

The main problem with EQ is that the entire game revolves around equipment.... period.
You get your 60th level character and put all his/her equipment in the bank and equip him/her with basic SHOP bought equipment and no one will let you into there group. IF you want to get some good equipment be prepeared to spend 12 hour straight on a raid just so you can have a dice roll at this equipment !

AO revolves around equipment as well but no where as much, since you can buy it all in shops or doing missions for it.

EQ is a more social game but have you asked yourself why ?
Because your always sat around waiting for something to happen, whether its a spawn/mana regen/ hp regen. There is so much DOWNTIME in the game you have to socialise.
If you want to socialise in AO try making a temp chat group. I am in one quite often, there is usually about 10 of us in it. I remember back in EQ when i had been playing it for 3 weeks i did not know this many people. The game is as social as YOU want it to be. If your a sad person who cant make friends don't blame it on the game you only have yourself to blame.
EQ vs Real Life
# Jul 30 2001 at 9:47 AM Rating: Decent
This wasn't what I had planned on writing about. I was going to do a pro EQ post but when I stopped to collect my thought on how much I enjoy it I reallized that I couldn't think of anytime that I just had fun playing it.

It's always about getting more power and better items. It's like a job and I'm just working at getting high enough to actually be in control of my character and not have to worry about my faction or being KOS and running to the guards.

Sense I have started playing EQ I have lost total desire for any real life experiences without even noticing. I was talking to a friend (EQ) and he commented that his exwife spent more time playing EQ than with tere son. My other friend (RL) commented that "thats why you don't have children".

He was reffering to the fact people that weren't responsible just shouldn't have kids but most people that i have met play it like anything in real life is just a bother and takes away from there EQ time (Ralinda<----)

Sorry I got off the main subject and I can't say that I'm going to stop playing but i vow to see the sunlight more and EQ less.

Just my 2 cp
Ralinda lvl 13 SK
The Rathe
Eq Addicts = Morons
# Jul 30 2001 at 9:31 AM Rating: Default
You eqaddict people are a real joke. Get a fyckin life. Maybe both AO and EQ would be better if their worlds weren't full of losers like you.

Pathetic.
RE: Eq Addicts = Morons
# Dec 03 2001 at 8:09 AM Rating: Default
Does anyone else see the irony of spouting 'you eqaddict ... get a *** life' by posting on a MMOG orientated site?

What were you doing reading Allakhazam if you think we're all losers? Do you spend all your time hunting down any post about EQ and whining?

In (nearly) your own words...

Get a life!

PS Just in case people don't get it - I'm laughing as I write this and shaking my head in disbelief
For me EQ became alot like work
# Jul 29 2001 at 6:07 PM Rating: Good
I have not cancelled my EQ account yet but I have no desire to play it since I started AO.
I think that AO is a much better game in most ways ( although it does have some problems that I believe will be fixed and will make this a truely great game). In the 2 years I played eq EQ I played a character to lvl 50 , started over and played another character to lvl 60 . I really didnt like the fact that you had to be in an "uber" guild to get any high level stuff , but this is the way it is ( and I was in the best guild on my server) . In the end it was all the same .... round everyone up port to our destination and kill whatever god / dragon / dwarf / giant was up before some other guild did. I very much like the fact that I feel like I can accomplish something in AO by myself . I really like the mission system in AO . I think the PvP system in AO is perfect . Death and exp loss are handled the way I feel they should be. The " risk vrs reward" system in eq was very frustrating (this is after looking for clerics during one of my 50 deaths in lvl 59) . The makers of EQ insisted that that was an important part of the game and I totallly disagree . Nights turning into a frantic search for a cleric so you dont lose 8 hrs leveling time = no fun to me .
To sum it up I have fun playing AO that I didnt have since EQs early days .
So Ill gladly Risk playing a mildly flawed game because I believe it will be more rewarding in the long run .
#REDACTED, Posted: Jul 29 2001 at 8:10 AM, Rating: Sub-Default, (Expand Post) Wow you all are seathing with stupidity... The game plays just fine, and for the cry baby complaining about duping dude shut up... the only reason you are complaining is becuase your NOT the one Duping... Hell wish i knew how id report it right away but you dont see the me complaining
EQ vs AO
# Jul 29 2001 at 1:10 AM Rating: Default
I played AO beta and play AO now. I have been playing EQ for almost 2 years now. I have decided that I will cancel my AO account once i have paid for one month of it. Why? Because everything is too easy and there are people duping and exploiting more than you can imagine. The game is pretty much beyond repairable until they fix all the dupes and exploits, then make a new server. Even people that don't dupe or exploit can get items too easy. You dont feel like you have accomplished something when you get X item because 5000 other people have it already.

Bottom line, EQ is a better game overall. I will _maybe_ play AO 6 or so months after I cancel my account, assuming I hear that it's playable, there is no duping, and there are no major exploits.
Fact and Opinion
# Jul 28 2001 at 8:31 PM Rating: Good
Some people are forgetting that we are all entitled to our own opinions. Hashing each other or Allakhazams review isn't going to solve anything. My opinion after close to a month of playing is mixed. I've had both frustration and fun. The problem is I have my doubts about the future of the game. I like this game a great deal, but lets look at the facts.

1. The game is unplayable or close to it for a lot more people then it should be. The memory leak problem is inexcusable. The "fixes" you see have to do with issues that are not the main problem. Who cares about the concealment skill if you can't walk across the city without crashing? Every resource they have should be used to fix the stability, not the playability. This company screams INCOMPETENCE.

2. The PvP system they thought of is terribly flawed and will make or break the game for some people. IMHO Everquest did it right but having servers for people who like it. There is camping in AO. You will find that out in the worst way upon exiting your mission area in a political zone and getting creamed by PKing campers. PKers have nothing to lose either. All they have to do is save before going out to "Murder Camp". I can't sit behind this computer and honestly believe Funcom thought that this idea was a good one. You get done with your mission, zone out, and splat, you're dead. PKers like to camp "zone in" area as well. So while the area is loading, you get shot to pieces. This entire concept they created may be the straw that broke the camels back. Many people who enjoy the "casual" aspects of the game may all of a sudden get slapped in the face and receive a rude awakening the first time it happens to them.

3. AO, UO, AC, and EQ are completely different games. Comparing is OK but it will be impossible for everone like 4 equally. Play what you want and don't tell other people what to do. The thing that is by far the most annoying aspect in this game is some of the people. These bugs will never be fixed. One time in game I lagged and complained about the bugs in the newbie OOC chat. About 6 people were immediately offended like I killed their dog or something. Most of them told me I was moronic and I shouldn't play then. I would like to say to all those people that I didn't kill their dog, and if you don't like that I complain about the bugs, then you shouldn't be playing because YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY FRUSTRATED from the game yourself. Transferring anger is a very common response to stress and depression. Maybe you should seek psychiatic help then.

4. I love AO, but its starting to frustrate me. I'm not going to go out and but a gig of memory to play this game. I play every other game I own without that kind of resources. Therefore, it is Funcoms fault and they should send everyone a free stick of 256 memory. Hehe.

Anyway, enjoy the game if you can. We shall see how long its going to take and whether Funcom will come through. Don't get you're hopes up, though, and you won't be as disappointed then. Funcom's already lied and stretched the truth. I think it will be some time before we actually see some honesty from them if ever. I'm hoping for the best, but given the facts the bugs, PvP system thats a joke, and current levels of frustration, its seems like a longshot.

Russian Roulette Online for anyone?
RE: Allakhazam's Review of AO
# Jul 28 2001 at 11:30 AM Rating: Default
I would throw most of the negative comments Allakhazam said about AO into the trash can. EQ had almost the exact same problems in April, 1999, which Allakhazam has conveniently managed to forget.

No, AO is not perfect yet, but yes, the bugs will be fixed.

My reason for switching from EQ to AO is simple. I like playing "wizards".

Verant defined a wizard class for EQ that I liked and then they proceeded to nerf the class to the point that a wizard was but a pale shadow of its original definition.

AO has defined a nanotech profession that I like, but it is up to me and how I use my IPs that will ultimately define how my "wizard" character will turn out.

I like AO's approach much better than EQ's.

Verant has the attitude that Norrath is "their world" and if you don't play by "their rules", they will ban you from "their game".

AO has a story line that our characters are going to influence. Other than that, Funcom is keeping their opinions and influences out of Rubi-Ka and letting the players police themselves.

I like AO's approach much better than EQ's.

There is NO downtime and NO camping in AO.

I really like AO's approach a lot better than EQ's.

But then, I like playing "wizard" characters. It might be much different for other professions.

Hope this helps ...

Chynn
AO Has problems
# Jul 28 2001 at 9:47 AM Rating: Default
And the guys at Funcom are rookies. But your review reads like Verant paid you to write it.

I agree with all the negatives on AO's part, but my god EQ is no where near as good as you make it out to be.


And how much did Verant pay you to say "Whatever you do, don&#8217;t cancel your EQ account though"?
SHHHHH
# Jul 28 2001 at 9:39 AM Rating: Default
We don't need anymore players in AO right now, just keep saying how bad it is........


EQ RULZZZ STAY THERE
...
# Jul 28 2001 at 6:50 AM Rating: Default
ao sucks (boring) eq sucks (boring) uo sucks (boring)

hope nwn comes out soon .. or i love to thry sarwars gelaxy (it will be the same as ao uo and eq though ..)

horizons look promesing to....

all games get boring after a while doing same thing over and over and over ...

hmmm maby its time i shut down my computer and get out site see the sun ..
I have to speak on this
# Jul 28 2001 at 5:13 AM Rating: Default
Some people are more prone to "addictions" than others. I had a nasty EQ addiction myself and after putting in well over 1000 RL hours into EQ it was time to go.

I am tired of the same raids, tired of the camping, was tired of seeing morons paying hundreds of dollars on egay for items or characters, and worst of all by picking a paladin I wound up being useless at level 50+. In 1999 I never thought I was picking a useless character. Was tired of the class nerfing and tired of seeing level ones decked out in equipment that would make you drool or having to constantly deal with beggars in the newbie zones that would see swords like soulfire and then ask for money or items for free. I should not have to put away my sword just so I can walk around freely.

Fact is that if you want to put the time into AO like you did in EQ then its fine..You can group all you want and be social..but if your time is limited AO is great. Go online and do a mission. I am sure over time the variety of missions and items will improve vastly as will the storyline. AO is great because it gives YOU the choice of what you want to do. In EQ you were vastly limited by your class, and also by how much OTHERS were willing to help you. You had better have nice friends when you need to camp a MOB for 7 hours to get an item. I would see level 30+ chars with **** Equipment and they all would say the same thing, that they can not put in the time to play the game to get the nice stuff so they just spend their time trying to level as best they could- but without the nice equipment it is not as fun.

AO solves that by letting you really play for an hour here and there and not forcing you to clear your schedule like EQ does.

Now do not get me wrong, I loved EQ- I had to quit it because I was an addict. Even now I still have withdrawal pangs when I hear the name and think about the great times I had there..but it was an addiction. I do not know if thats more of a reflection on me or Verant in making such a great game. Now I do NOT have that "addiction" feeling with AO and I am glad, but I think I will stay with it longer because I can have a life outside the game and yet enjoy the game when I want to play it.

Problem for me is that as soon as Galaxies comes out its probably bye bye for this game for me but that gives me more than a year to enjoy it.

goals?
# Jul 27 2001 at 11:32 PM Rating: Default
Ok, I have seen a number of people here saying that EQ has no goals, no payoffs. Essentially the only goal is to level and get better gear. For the most part, this is true (aside from goals you set for yourself that is). BUT how is AO any different? I realize the "story" is going to start in the fall...but do you really believe that is somehow going to transcend the game from what is in now, a levelfest, into something more personal and rewarding? I am dubious. Unless they hired a GM to interact with every single group that is in the game (which is imposiible), I don't see it happening. I am currently looking for an mmorpg to play...so I gave AO a shot. Unfortunately, the game is boring as hell to me. Thats probably the reason I havent played the last week or so, and will probably cancel the account.
EQ Vs. AO
# Jul 27 2001 at 7:00 PM Rating: Default
I&#8217;ve played EQ for over 2 years now and any game that can keep me hooked for over 1 year is an amazing game. EQ basicaly made the MMORPG market what it is today it&#8217;s 300k subscribers or whatever huge number it is can&#8217;t all be wrong. I think AO is a better game for me though after putting so much time into EQ I&#8217;m ready for something new. Regardless of AO&#8217;s huge playability problems, like for example the Memory Leak from hell, it&#8217;s a very dynamic game. I can&#8217;t believe anyone is calling AO tedius after playing EQ, who want&#8217;s to get another pair of J-Boots!?!? Yeeehaw! And that quest wasn&#8217;t even an epic. Or the wonders of playing a wizzard; wait for pull, wait for tanks to smack it around for a while, and nuke and med and rinse and repeat. For clerics replace nuke with heal and tanks smacking mobs around to tanks getting smacked around by mobs and that&#8217;s pretty much it. I&#8217;ve come to enjoy AO because it has less downtime so when I log in for an hour I can fight for an hour rather then fight for 1 minute spurts and then med for 10, gems kinda looses its apeal after a while. I have to agree that the IP system is overwhelming at first and some kind of guide or anything at all would have been really usefull. It does provide a new dimension to the game and makes characters a little more diverse, unlike EQ where a druid is a druid they cast the same spells, at the same time, and in the same circumstances. Beyond that all druids wear the same things, complete the same quests, have the same stats, and are only different by race and name. There is of course something to said by that simplicity EQ is very cut and dry and every character/class has a place and duty to fill and with that simplicity EQ achieves a fairly balanced universe. AO allows for much more freedom, variety, and I like more complex games because they take longer to master and always can surprise you with something new. I also enjoy the grouping system much more because I&#8217;m not forced too, but there still is reason for me to group. They&#8217;ve got some nice things like I can join just about any party of other people to make a team and we can work together regardless of class balance, I always hated trying to find an unused cleric because my group conists of 2 warriors, 1 wizzard, 1 enchanter, and a Rogue. It&#8217;s kind of nice not to balance the group or have to kick people out because we need an open spot for a cleric for my group to function. They&#8217;ve also got this neat idea of groups that gain a group level, the higher your group level the higher your exp bonus and such. I&#8217;ve been pretty social on this game and have a group of people I consistently work and trade with. AO does have the reward system where the best items in the game you can use at your level are found in higher level missions or are made from higher level players so if you want to stay ontop of everything you do lots of trading and buying. I also enjoy the PvP, in my EQ experience after literaly dominating the planes and all the high level mobs in the game it gets a little borring because after you clear PoA a couple times it really becomes routine. I discovered the only real chalange after a while was doing battle with my friends on the PvP servers which was a lot of fun and is what really claimed my interest for the last year and a half or so. The problem with EQ PvP is that it&#8217;s dominated by a few classes in an almost specific way, if you want to become an unstopable PK the best classes by far are Necromancers and Druids while classes like Enchanters who get all their nukes resisted and Warriors who you can&#8217;t kill but can&#8217;t really kill you thanks to the wonders of SoC and Shadow Step are PvP jokes.

For those that like to skim posts:
EQ = Great game
AO = Better game for me

On a side note I also heard that not only to gaining experience for picking locks and such in an upcoming patch they plan to add exp gain for making items.
gg
# Jul 27 2001 at 5:53 PM Rating: Default
I totally disagree with the "solo" game you think Ao is. In a group you gain SO much more exp. My char is currently lvl 34,and I find gaining exp goes SOO slow when not in a group. The higher lvl game gets much better,yea lag is definately an issue,but the game has alot of potnetial. I like to hang out at Galway county and have met alot of cool people and made some friends I group with all the time now. Also your forgettng about the "story line" which I think will make game even better. I have played eq for q years now and Dont get me wrong I love it,well kinda lost love for it cause game is all about loot. Ao is actually a rpg,where loot doesnt get in way of the gameplay. Yea rare items are cool,but I rather the game not be dominated by it like eq is. Eq is all about loot loot loot ,and it gets annoying after a while. I see a much brighter future for ao then eq,well for people that play game for the mmorpg feel. To say ao is not a mmorpg stuns me, ao will be a better mmorpg then eq ever will. Vaio
man people are bitter
# Jul 27 2001 at 3:47 PM Rating: Default
/shrug people have this tendency to get into one camp or the other, and get so attached to it they are blind to the problems it has and blind to the benefits of the other side. Its like rooting for a college football team.

AO has serious technical problems and it was truly an insult to release a game this far from ready. But, Funcom actually pays attention to bug reports, and I haven't heard them say "It's working as intended" yet. That being said, however, if they don't start stamping out this memory leak soon I'm going to start playing AO a lot less. I have 640 mb of memory for gods sake and it eats it like candy.

There's nothing per se wrong with EQ, downtime does suck though, and the fact I can play ao for 2 hours and enjoy myself and make forward progress is fun. It's also patently true that I don't get as much social interaction in AO though, so 2 hours is about all i can do before I start growing much more bored, unless a friend or two from RL is on.

So, bottom line, EQ is way more time intensive, but I really enjoy the social aspects, and its fun to have rare/unique items, so that aspect of the "camping/ubermob" method does add some fun.

On the other hand, AO is gonna be very slick for the casual gamer once the story line starts up, and IF and ONLY IF they stamp out a ton of bugs very soon.

I honesty think the most bitter, die-hard people supporting AO right now are generally the ones who felt left out because they couldn't get into their local uberguild or whatever. So they're taking it out on EQ. /shrug whatever, they're both good games, or will be if Funcom ever gets their **** together.

My dream? Funcom's attention to customers making complaints, and some of their nifty ideas, combined with a product as technically sound as EQ. Now there would be a game. It could be AO if they ever work out the bugs.
Actually the uberguild made me bitter
# Jul 27 2001 at 9:21 PM Rating: Decent
***
1,075 posts

"I honesty think the most bitter, die-hard people supporting AO right now are generally the ones who felt left out because they couldn't get into their local uberguild or whatever."

Being a non high reward class in an uberguild is what really made me bitter. Maybe If I wasn't and never had the expectations of planes armor and dragon loot I would not have been.

EQ was just too much like punching a clock and your uber guild could get too much like a weird pyramid scam or chain letter where the people on top got rewarded and you tryed to crawl and rip your way up there punching that clock more and more. In the end, after two years, I really had more good loot that I spent less time getting on my own while I assited in getting lots of people in my guild great stuff.. yay.. and wasting lots of time.

The irony is that if I'd spent like 1/4 of that time and energy on a job in real life, I'd be like vice president of some company and filthy rich.

"So they're taking it out on EQ. /shrug whatever, they're both good games, or will be if Funcom ever gets their @#%^ together. ""

I would not call EQ a "good" game, its severely flawed because it has too much downtime and too much seperation of the haves and have nots. In some ways EQ can cease being a "game" at all. That is why I like AO more now.

AO is JUST a game, it doesn't make me yearn to get in a try to get some uber loot or camp something like EQ did.. drooling like a crack fiend. But that is a GOOD thing. Its just a game.

It might not be as good as EQ right now, but its a better "game" because that is all it is. EQ is something else entirely.

AO has some new code on the test server which should address many complaints. Of course currently that patch on the test server is making people lose like ALL of their XP and fall for huge damage when zoning and various other odd things. In AO the test server is REALLY the test server ;)
How to Cancel AO Account
# Jul 27 2001 at 3:45 PM Rating: Default
I decided to cancel my AO account. I won't go into my reasons why, but I decided to share with you my adventure in doing so. As it turns out, it's ridiculously easy to do. In fact, turns out I canceled my account accidentally before I intended to without realizing it. If you've played AO, then you know that in the login interface, among other things, there's a button that says login, and a button that says account. Now, any reasonable person would assume that if you hit the account button, that you would be taken to a page or screen that allows you to either view or change current account info, or cancel your account if so desired. If you click this button, however, that is not quite what happens. Your web browser opens and you get a screen where you are asked to enter in you account name and password. Assuming it accepts, your info, the next screen, at least for me on several occasions has two pieces of info.. aside from the banner and title bar. To the right it says this screen is a work in progress, will be updated by July to be more funtional, etc. This has been there since day 1. On the other side of the screen, it says, once again at least for me, that my account has been canceled, and can be reactivated later. Does anyone else see the problem here?? I exchanged several e-mails with Funcom tech support, and they verified that if someone clicks the aforementioned account button and logs in thinking that they would then be able to view and / or edit their account info, what they really end up doing is canceling their account unintentionally. Now, on a scale of 1 to 10, how stupid is it for a business to set up a system where it is so easy for someone to cancel their account accidentally?? The last message I got from Funcom tech support indicated that this is yet another problem that they are aware of and are working on. So, alot of you think of Sony / Verant as the evil corporate giant, and I'm not going to dispute that opinion. But, in comparison to Sony / Verant, Funcom seems like a bunch of inexperienced amateurs that are in over their head. When a company responds to a complaint letter with a canned pre-generated response, that is understandable as the company wants to make sure that the complainer has tried the obvious solutions. However, when a company doesn't even bother to check their canned pregenerated response for gramattical and spelling errors, it makes the company look very 2nd rate and amateurish. The first response I got from Funcom was so gramatically inept, I wish I had saved it for entertainment purposes. So, I am giving up on AO and sticking with EQ for the time being. Eventhough I do not like what Sony / Verant does all the time, at least they know what they are doing. I can not say the same for Funcom.

Mortiis X'Ian of Bertoxxulous
46th Tier'Dal Necromancer

Vitaee Vetavegamin of Bertoxxulous
35th Fier'Dal Druid

P.S. Can we all agree that we can't wait to see whether or not Mythic Entertainment does a better job with DAoC??
BO-RING
# Jul 27 2001 at 11:56 AM Rating: Default
Well I played an adventurer to level 63 and finally got to the point where, this is just the same damn thing over and over.

I did alot of missions adn at level 1 you run into a mission and fight a daft OT Informer. At level 10 you fight rough OT Informers. At 20 you fight Rookie OT Informers and on and on and on and on.

At level 1 your choice of missions and thier briefings are EXACTLY the same as the ones you get at 50, just put in a harder zone to cross to get to the mission and thats the ONLY diversity you will get.

AO is dull, boring and gives you no reason to ever talk to anyone in game. In AO, everyone runs around with EPIC weapons that they got SOLO. And all the fanboys who say when the storyline begins here in a month it will get better, please spare us. Nothing will help this game, the problems are at the core and all the superficial fixes they will make from here on will not make it any better.

PVP :hows this for a nice BUG. You run into a political zone and out fo nowhere, this character who is 4 levels lower than you starts plugging away at you. So you laugh and start bursting him like mad. Well the jokes on you, because this lowly character is grouped with a player 30 levels higher than you and thus by firing on his groupmate, he is able to slaughter you. Way to go Funlesscom.

Game manual, what a pathetic peice of ****. It gives you almost no info on game play, the basics to get going and the like. If you didnt play beta and learned through tiral and error, you have a big learning curve to start and even worse is how many IP points you will waste early on as you learn these "small" details that are very important to character development. I.E Implants and all the skills related to them.
Bye bye EQ hello AO
# Jul 27 2001 at 2:47 AM Rating: Default
Many pro-AO people have written excellent articles on why it rocks over EQ, so I don't fee a compelling need to write a long essay.

At the end of the day, to each his own. Some like their meat rare, some well done. Me?

I'm a lvl 52 druid. I'm happily cancelling my two EQ accounts for AO. Why?

1) At high levels, I can't level without spending INSANE amounts of time soloing creatures (talk about BORING- THIS IS BORING) or grouping (takes even longer).

2) At high levels, I can't get uber loot without going on plane raids, which are scheduled at one per month/2 months, coz there's a queue. And then I get a 0.01% chance of getting a piece of armor or loot.

3) If I die on plane raids etc, corpse retrieval can take many hours.

4) camping for placeholders for a chance to loot some uber loot or as part of a quest.

5) many of the spawns need a guild or group to tackle. Which means guild trouble because everyone in guild have their own epic/quests to complete. My own guild split up because of this sort of thing.

6) All of the above is great if I can spend like 8 hours a day playing, 30 days a month. I don't.

Oh, did I mention that I'm a great fan of Verant? I love the way they think EQ is their world. Actually, they are right, and they can have it back. When I'm paying my hard-earned money to play a game, I want to have some say / influence / respect as a customer. For this reason alone, I shuda cancelled my accounts in protest over some banning incident last year. But there was no alternative. Not any more.

Bye Verant, and good riddance.

Oh, and those people who worked SO HARD to get their uber loot who can't bear to leave... you have my sympathies. You're stuck in a way. You don't have much to do, and you don't want to throw it all away. Well, like I said, to each his own.

this vs that
# Jul 26 2001 at 5:13 PM Rating: Decent
There are many inciteful responses on this subject. Although I have to point out that if you do not have experience with both games then you should before making any judgements.

I have played EQ for over 2 years and I have played AO since release. On that note I would like to make just a few comments..

Some have stated AO is too easy, and have even gone as far as calling it more hack and slash.
These are from the people who have not played AO long enough or at all.. You must remember that AO is based on a storyline. The hunting may become relatively easy but unlike EQ that is not your goal.

The goal in EQ is to get level 60 and to get the best items/equipment you can.

The goal in AO is to win the war between the Omni Tek Corporation and the Rebel Clans. Getting better items/equipment along the way for an ultimate goal.

If combat with the wildlife is easier I assure you the combat against the other players is challenging.

Funcom isn't going to sit back and watch either, based on the war there will be significant changes made to the world.

Now about the review..

AO more a solo game? flat out wrong.. you have the OPTION, but remember the game objective.. you're not going to take down Omni Tek with one Clan agent.
I have always been one that loved to solo.. and I play an adventurer on AO (a class more suited for solo play) yet I have grouped about 50 percent of the time online and would have grouped 90 percent if I didn't turn down many invites.

Graphics.. now this is chalked up as opinion, but IMO AO graphics make EQ look pathetic. As far as the world goes, I think its beautiful and more as if I am looking out a window rather than a monitor.

Classes/Professions

Outstanding job on AO.. there is tremendous diversablity. Its up to you. As far as all "attack classes" /chuckle ..all I have to say is did you actually play the same game? Fixer, Trader, Bureacrat.. these are not "attack classes" and even the Engineer and Agent can be developed as non attack classes.. I have a friend whose agent specializes fully in covert operations and his offense leaves alot to be desired but its not his specialty.. know the game before writing a review.

I had alot of fun with EQ but it left me yearning for more, mainly for a reason besides just getting stuff. I have found more with AO..

Bottom line..

play what you have fun playing.. and do not listen to all the posts here.. check them out for yourself.

Main problem is Boredom
# Jul 26 2001 at 12:49 PM Rating: Default
Anarchy Online is boring.

That's the main problem.

The game play is repetetive beyond belief. I imagine action-gamers who like stat-based "character development" will enjoy it, but it seems simplistic, derivative, unimaginative and tedious to me.

Character building seems to rely pretty much on stat and equipment improvement. There is nothing I've found that you can do which allows you give your character personality. What trade skills there are are broken, and even if they fix them they are all purely geared towards the same equipment-based gameplay.

Allakhazam's review is pretty much right on the money, except that I think the Mission system is an idiotic dead-end. It's online single player gaming - nothing multiple, let alone massively multiple about it. EQ quests are vastly more interesting to do.

Grouping in AO gives you massive xp bonuses, but with no chat channel outside cities that goes much beyond line-of-sight, it's pretty tough to get a pick-up group. People are trying to group to get the bonus, but a lot more are soloing. You can see that by the reaction you get if you try to shout for a group in a busy area.

Also if you think EQ groups are dependent on healers and enchanters, you should try an AO group without a Doctor.

Soloing is easier than EQ, it's true. However, it's also about as interesting as whitewashing a fence. Get the optimum weapon for your skill (Freedom Arms, Mausser, whatever) - find the little area where the semi-static spawns of the correct level mill around - blast them and heal yourselve. Voila, one hour = one level and one exceptionally bored player. Or do the same in a mission, get better loot but add another hour for the trip to and from the mission terminal.

The graphics are good, but the scenery is dull. If it was a real place it would definitely not have much of a tourist industry. You can travel much more safely than in EQ (nothing much paths across roads) but there is far, far less to look at on the journey.

The graphics deal with fights terribly, too. You can barely see what's happening - the name of the creature you are killing takes up more space than the creature itself, sometimes.

Upgrading and maintaining your equipment is a constant chore. Tedious, repetetive, frustrating. You have the choice of carrying so much ammunition you can hardly walk or running back to town every 20 minutes when you run out of bullets.

And you need to change your weapon and armor constantly to keep pace with the things you're fighting. I can wear the same kit and use the same weapon for 10 or 15 levels in EQ - in AO I have to upgrade every three or four levels - and thats 3 or 4 on a 200 level system, not 60.

Nothing has any real personality or individuality. The guards don't have names, the monsters drop "Monster Parts". Everyone looks slightly different, but most of them look like the Gimp or a cheerleader or someone from the Matrix.

All of these complaints relate to innate design failures, not to the lamentable technical problems. At the moment there is a sense of achievement in getting anything done at all, but once the game is completely fixed, bug-free and playable the deep, deep boredom of the gameplay will become all too apparent.

To sum up, I think that when the appalling bugs, exploits and technical problems are finally ironed out, Anarchy Online will be a fair-to-middling semi-rpg, suitable for teenagers and people with a very short attention span. If the storyline turns out to be any good it may attract roleplayers who prefer SF to fantasy as well, though I doubt it.

Adults and anyone of any age who doesn't find stats fascinating in and of themselves are going to lose patience with AO very fast indeed.

As, indeed, I already have.

RE: Main problem is Boredom
# Jul 29 2001 at 5:00 PM Rating: Default
LOL you just described EVERQUEST to a TEE almost, talk about BORING lol, I've played EQ for over two years, I'm sick and tired of just SITTING there looking at my monitor waiting for something to happen....EQ is a CAMP fest a WAIT and SEE event...lol and you describe character building of AO as STATS and EQUIPMENT lol what the hell do you think EQ does??? EQ is all about building up EQUIPMENT with BETTER stats than the LAST piece of equipment you got SIX months AGO....talk about LAME....and where is the ADVENTURE in EQ? AND the EXP IS LAME IN EQ....HOURS even DAYS sometimes just to gain ONE LEVEL and in some levels 31,36,41 and 45 you can lose that EXP just like that unless you BEG for a REZ or PAY out your **** for one....EQ is built around STRESS....you go inside a deep hard dungeon and die, you can't retrieve your corpse....24 hours baby and it's gone!!!! NOT IN AO, in AO you get ALL your equipment back from the last save and saving costs very little compared to the amount of loot one aquires from missions...AO is FUN, you get to PLAY a game and you are lame for saying it's pure SOLO....just because you couldn't find a group doesn't mean everyone can't....I've always been able to find a group and I like the skill points to put into my character along the way of leveling instead of STATIC stats like EQ that can only be increase by better equipment that's either FARMED to death and you have to play out the YING YANG to buy....or take HOURS or DAYS to Aquire from the constant SAME SPOT SAME PLACE OVER AND OVER KILLING OF THE SAME BORING SPAWN yeah baby that's REAL FUN isn't it?!!! LOL The Real MEAT of AO hasn't even started yet, the WAR between the CLAN and OMNI....it's a non-pvp with PvP elements blended in in certain areas, I like that aspect....I can PvP when I want to and just go adventuring when I want to....and you obviously must have just played the VERY EASY missions to see it as repetitive and boring....one can adjust the missions to make them as easy or hard as they want to AND one can also NOT LOOK at the very bottom of the mission if they want to be surprised at the mission loot, and futhermore I've had some better drops off the mission mobs than the mission gave me anyways!!! I'm sure you'll just love camping Dilyn Starfire in Highhold Pass oh boy yes that is sooooo challenging and eight hour camp that has been KSed time and time again....YEAH BOY that's real ADVENTURE and FUN.....EQ is great for one thing ....SOCIALIZING because you have MORE TIME to do that than anything else!!! LOL

Ravinhood lvl 51 Shaman (retired)
I dont care that much about the deaths or the phat loots any
# Jul 26 2001 at 12:01 PM Rating: Default
ha i heared that before ... sure youre on a raid and epicitem_11 drops and some one els got it .. instead of you ,when you near ending youre epic quest seen it a lot and i know yorue one to .

i have about 100 days in eq on 1 char dont say i didnt play it mutch to know what game it is . people like ao becorse you dont have to whait hour for camping stuff losing youre corps becorse its deep in chardok dungeon or sebilis

AO = UO .. but prittyer in graphics and non skill baced like uo .. but it has the play stile as eq (fighting etc)
quit compairing these games and putting one down becorse of bug thingys be happy and play what you want .. and stop posting here its getting to long :P

Tarcy
A perfect example
# Jul 26 2001 at 11:54 AM Rating: Decent
of why noobies should not write game reviews!

Seriously Allakhazam what's the highest level you've played for crying out loud? If it's less than 50 you have virtualy ZERO idea of what the game has to offer in terms of varity or class distinction.

Stick to a technical comparision and leave abstracts out until you've actually sen enough to know what you're talking about.
RE: A perfect example
# Jul 28 2001 at 2:41 AM Rating: Default
If you have to play the game for at least 50 levels before it begins to show variety or class distinction, then the game is a perfect example of flawed design. Most people play games because they're enjoyable. Having to invest hour after hour playing the game, just to get to the point that it finally lives up to some of it's promises isn't fun. It's an unwelcome chore that will turn many people off way before level 50.
RE: A perfect example
# Jul 30 2001 at 10:03 AM Rating: Decent
Remember 50 in AO is like 15 in EQ. It's been my experiance in EQ that the classes don't really start coming into their own until their 20's. And most people can't play their class effectivly until high 30's low 40's.

That aside, AO is a large game. To expect to see the fantastic depth and varity you see in EQ ( after playing and buying expanstions for 2 years ) within the space of a few weeks is rediculous.
Remember Diablo?
# Jul 26 2001 at 8:53 AM Rating: Default
I loved the game, but I mostly played by myself, cause nearly everyone on there had cheat programs and stuff at like lvl 1. I hear everyone is cheating in AO and I wouldnt consider playing till they fixed the dupes/hacks and wiped it or made a new server.
apples and oranges
# Jul 27 2001 at 9:28 PM Rating: Decent
***
1,075 posts

There are really no dupes and hacks, there were a few dupe bugs. Most of them got fixed.

There was also some concern as to how some people got so high level so fast, everyone said "oh it must be exploiting!"

Funcom addressed this in the following way, they listed the high level people and a few were 60 or more and one was level 80.
Were they all dupers and hackers? Nope, quite the contrary. The 80th level person has spent THREE HUNDRED AND FORTY HOURS in this game since launch.
So if exploiting got him to 80 he is PRETTY GOSH DARN BAD AT IT ;)

Virtually no one is cheating in AO. Because you can level so fast in it just by grouping and made so many credits so fast just by doing missions, trying to actually cheat would kind of be a waste.
Its zero downtime and high reward so there just is not much incentive or reason to even try.



I play them Both
# Jul 26 2001 at 7:02 AM Rating: Decent
I play EQ and AO both , and I even play them both at the same time. WOOHOO .
Oh look , i'm sitting in EQ for Uber_Mob00 to spawn , which is on a 7 hour timer , which is held by a placeholder , that may or may not spawn. Oh my that gives me enough time to run a mission or 2 or 3 or hey maybe more , while I wait . UH uh , I'm in AO and the PH that i need to kill just spawned . Oh well if I just finisehd a Fight I'm in the process of Healing myself so I have time to kill the PH then , and If I'm in a Fight I have time to Kill the PH then to , as the game is most likely about to Lag out on me, and I won't know the outcome of the fight until the server starts responding again . Hehehe , Its all Good. Play AO and EQ at the same time , and let the EXP and Phat Lewt Roll.
Post Comment

Free account required to post

You must log in or create an account to post messages.